Editing Hopi mythology (section)

==Kachinas==
[[Image:Kachina dolls.jpg|thumb|Drawings of kachina dolls from an 1894 anthropology book.]]

One of the Hopi religious societies is the ''katsina'' society.  According to Barry Pritzker, "Reflecting the close association between the world of the living and that of the dead, spirits play an integral role in the land of the living. They are associated with clouds and with benevolent supernatural entities called ''[[kachina|katsinam]]'' (the plural of katsina), which inhabit the [[San Francisco Peaks]] just north of [[Flagstaff, Arizona]]."  According to Susanne and Jake Page, the katsinam are "the spirits of all things in the universe, of rocks, stars, animals, plants, and ancestors who have lived good lives."<ref name="bp">{{cite book |last1=Pritzker |first1=Barry |title=The Hopi |date=2011 |publisher=Chelsea House |location=New York |isbn=9781604137989 |pages=26–27}}</ref>

Around  {{CE|1325}} [[Kachina]] masks and Kachina dancers appear as rock art.<ref name="Layton">{{cite book|author1=Robert Layton|author-link1=Robert Hugh Layton|editor1-last=McDonald|editor1-first=Jo|editor2-last=Veth|editor2-first=Peter|title=A Companion to Rock Art|date=2012|publisher=Wiley|isbn=978-1444334241|page=448|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=excwzC1zhY0C&q=kachina+1325&pg=PT641|chapter=Rock art, identity and indigeneity}}</ref> 

The Hopi say that during a great drought, they heard singing and dancing coming from the [[San Francisco Peaks]]. Upon investigation, they met the Kachinas who returned with the Hopi to their villages and taught them various forms of agriculture. The Hopi believe that for six months of the year, Kachina spirits live in the Hopi villages. The nine day ''Niman'' or Going Home ceremony concludes the Kachina season with an outdoor Kachina Dance<ref>Pecina, Ron and Pecina, Bob. Hopi Kachinas: History, Legends, and Art. pp. 85–98. Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2013. {{ISBN|978-0-7643-4429-9}}</ref> where the line of Kachinas bring harvest gifts for the spectators and Kachina dolls for the young girls.  Different sets of Kachinas perform each year.  Most favored is the Hemis group of Kachinas who perform accompanied by a variety of Kachina manas. After the Going Home Dance in late-July or early-August, the Kachinas return to the San Francisco Peaks for six months.<ref>Pecina, Ron and Pecina, Bob. ''Hopi Kachinas: History, Legends, and Art''. Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2013. {{ISBN|978-0-7643-4429-9}}.</ref> The Hopi believe that these dances are vital for the continued harmony and balance of the world. It serves the further and vital purpose of bringing rain to the Hopi's parched homeland.